Aku
by TardisOwner
Summary: You know, it's pretty strange the things you learn in life. However, multiply that strangeness by a hundred, and that's what you get when your dad is Battousai. Yeah... I hate my life....
1. The Sword

*A/N - I know, I know! I'm being a bad writer, skipping around on everything, but I have a very good reason this time! I wanted to get this out so I could move on to other things, but it seems that this one is going to be like Stolen Away and be almost it's own arc. Yay for free time and Oklahoma ice storms! **I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, that I do not. So, in honor of being good fans, you should leave this one alone, that you should.** ~Tardis*

* * *

_ You know, it's pretty strange the things you learn in life. However, multiply that strange feeling by a hundred, and that's what you get when your dad is Battousai. Yeah... I hate my life...._

Chapter 1:

The Sword

In a boy's life, there is no greater role model than the father. Unfortunately for me, that never happened, because, in the Himura house, nothing was as it was supposed to be. Our makeshift, unconventional family, which consisted of the weirdest people imaginable, were only drawn together by one person: my father.

My father was probably the strangest of them all. He didn't take on the responcibility of being the bread-winner (that was Mom's job) and instead took on cooking and cleaning, when the students of Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu, my mother's sword style, didn't have to. In fact, my father almost had absolutely no masculine qualities. He wasn't all that special in a way, mainly because he was a very quiet, reserved person who didn't believe in violence. A pacifist. Never once did I hear scolding from my father, regardless of what I had done. He would smile and tell me it wasn't the best idea in the world and then try to get my mom to settle down. That was his only redeeming quality. He and I were complete opposites. He wanted peace and quiet, the everyday things in life, simple wonders... I wanted action, suspence, some meaning in life. I wanted to be a great swordsman, while my father, regardless of how supportive of me he was, always wanted to be a family man and settle down and stay there.

My mother was the polar opposite of my father, yet equally strange. She was a master in swordsmanship and taught countless students at our dojo. She was the type of person with a huge spirit and an even bigger heart. She was a very good Mom, no matter how many times I spent doing extra work simply for the crime of being her son after practice. She was always a loving, caring person who just didn't take crap from anyone. She was loud and bubbly and very weird, but most importantly, my mom was the best teacher anyone could ask for. She taught me everything about Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu by the time I was ten, and then continued to teach me other skills that she said "only came from experience". However, no matter what, no one could honestly say that I got along with my mom. Like oil and water, my mother never understood me and I never could understand her. Even though both of us lived, breathed, ate, and slept kenjutsu, we detested each other during practice... but at home when I had a problem, she was always there to solve it. I love my mom and always will, no matter how cruel she is in the dojo.

Then there was Yahiko, my makeshift uncle. He was about seven years younger than my mom and they acted like siblings. When I say "acted", I mean fought. Even into adulthood, they acted my age most, if not all, of the time. He was a bad influence and sadly the assistant master of Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu. He spent all of his free time either picking fights, gambling, or piling up that tab he had going at the Akabeko, despite the fact that he was now married and had his own son now. However, ever since I was little, Yahiko had been on my side. According to him, he grew up in the shadow of my father and under the teachings of my mother, so of course he was scarred for life. He wanted to get me into as many of his habits as possible and on more than one occasion I went gambling with him or picked fights with him and/or other people. But mostly Yahiko. However, he had a sword (a real one) so I always had to be extra careful when I picked said fights so that I didn't get a crushed collar bone thanks to that stupid thing. Seriously? What was the big deal about that sword if it didn't really have a blade anyway?

Next there was Miss Megumi. She was a doctor from Aizu that knew my father from waaay back ("Further back than I care to admit, Kenji-chan!"). She had moved away before I was born, and then later moved back to Tokyo when I was about nine. Her reason? She had looked for her family for a long time. When she finally found their graves, she was at peace with herself and went back to her friends, my parents. However, I have to admit that she was about as crazy as the rest of us and was always trying to steal my dad away from my mom, but it was all a joke, but my mom always reacted in the funniest ways... until I got hit upside the head... then it wasn't nearly as funny anymore....

Getting out of Tokyo, our friends from Kyoto were also in this group. Shinamori Aoshi was a very good shinobi in his day, he even used to be the leader of the Oniwabanshuu, but now he, like my father, was only living for the simple things in life. He was quiet and calm, never acting out of turn and always providing a calming ki to the usually unstable environment thanks to Yahiko and my mom. Shinamori Misao, Aoshi's wife, was a lot like my mom and they were best friends. They would talk and talk for hours when the Shinamoris came up from Kyoto every year to see us. Misao was bubbly and loud and very obnoxious. She would constantly torment me, but like my mom, she did have a caring streak... her's was just miniscule. Oh well, I always had a comeback... usually they involved the words "weasel girl". I must admit, whoever came up with that nickname for her was a genius.

All of these people were my family, but almost none of them respected me. Either they called me a "Kenshin clone" (which honestly, where did they get that from? Sure I _look_ like my dad, but we had nothing in common! We didn't do anything the same!) or they were saying that I still had a lot to learn. It was irritating. However, I had finally decided that was going to change.

* * *

I stumbled across the second biggest discovery of my life when I was ten. My mother had firmly decided that I was ready and that I had learned everything about Kamiya-Kasshin that she could teach me. I had learned the ougi, which was suprisingly difficult for such a laid back style, and now I just needed to wait for an opportunity to use my knowledge. I was giddy and my head was probably as big as Mount Fuji when I ran into a once-in-a-lifetime chance to prove myself.

One of my mom's students, around my age, was backed up against the end of an alley while several men surrounded him. Each swung makeshift clubs and other random weapons. The leader had a sword.

"So Juji, are you going to get us that money or not?" the man with the sword asked menicingly as his katana looked ablaze in the setting sun. Juji, a fairly new student and almost a hopeless case, was standing there with a look that plainly said he was about one more glare away from wetting himself.

"Hey!" I called out from the entrance to the alley. The five guys all turned around and looked at me. I was still in my training gi, but I had left my bokken at home since I was just out to get tofu for dinner. I didn't even think about that fact until I had already turned the attention of the thugs to myself. That was okay, though... I could totally beat them with just my hands!

"What's this? Another brat?" the leader asked. The men around him chuckled. That pretty much set it off... My temper was going to be the death of me someday...

"Wanna try that again, punk?" I hissed back as I narrowed my eyes. The men didn't seem to take me seriously, but they would regret that in about five mintutes....

"Why you little bastard! You're going to pay for that!" one of the men yelled at me. One more anger mark and I was gonna punch his lights out.

"Oh really? Why don't you just try it?" I asked. The leader seemed to take me a little more seriously than the others and as my eyes narrowed all the more, he smiled.

"Okay, kid. Amuse me. You wanna fight, meet us at the shrine just north of here tomorrow at sunset. Fail, and that money Juji owes us will come out of your ass," the man offered. I was contemplating it. I knew it was a trap, but if there were two things in this world I couldn't stand, it was men with big egoes and the oppression of the weak, and both of them were staring me in the face.

"Deal," I said as I walked through the part in the men to Juji and led him out of the pack and walked him home.

When I came home well after sunset, I knew I was going to be in trouble. Naturally, the Spanish Inquisition was waiting for me when I got home and I had to recall all of my action from the time I left to the time I walked through the door to Mom. I simply lied on the part about the upcoming duel and instead said that Yahiko asked me to do something. My mom bought it, but my father smiled knowingly and walked away. If possible, that just made me more irritated.

That night I came up with a battle plan. I accounted for every turn or trickery the battle could take and prepared accordingly, but there was a big problem with all of this: my bokken. I couldn't hope to beat a skilled man with a sword with a wooden sword even if it was pretty strong. Most importantly, it wouldn't break a sweat cutting through that for any man who knew an ounce of how to use a sword. Man, if only I could get something metal... even that useless sakabatou of Yahiko's---

--That's it! I would get the sakabatou! My instant revelation saw no flaws in the plan... but there was the inevitable question: how would I get it? Yahiko certainly wouldn't lend it to me, in fact he'd probably laugh, push me around, make fun of me, and then reject my request without a second thought. Steal it? Maybe... but how would I do that? Yahiko hardly ever parted with that thing... unless he was training at the dojo... Thank Kami that tomorrow was a training day!

So, with the promise of stealing the sakabatou in the morning, I went to sound and dreamless sleep...

* * *

*A/N - Yay! A whole chapter done already! Too bad it wasn't on Stolen Away, though... which is probably where I should focus my efforts. Oh well. New chapter of both hopefully up soon! ~Tardis*


	2. Owner of the Sword

*A/N - And so my challenge of getting as much stuff on paper this weekend continues! I hope everybody likes this chapter. I know this is set up kind of weird. This chapter and the one previous are Kenji telling the story of him using the sakabatou and his sudden quest to find out as much out as possible about his father. The future chapters are all when Kenji is fourteen and a half and ready to experience the world on his own, much like Yahiko did when he turned fifteen. Also, I must explain something to all those who are confuzed, the statement about Battousai at the beginning of chapter one is like an after thought of Kenji's. He actually doesn't know squat about his dad yet, so don't rush him!

**Tardis: Kenji, can you do the honors?**

**Kenji: I guess.... Tardis-dono would like to say that she, like me, doesn't like getting in trouble with lawyers, so she would like to say that she doesn't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters within. Does that work?**

**Tardis: Aw, kawaii! You say it just like your dad!**

**Kenji: That doesn't mean you can GLOMP ME, WOMAN!!!!**

**Tardis: Sorries! *XD Face***

* * *

I woke the next morning to the lovely sound of my mom bickering with Yahiko. What he was doing at the dojo at such an ungodly hour, I have no clue, but I did know that I was really wanting to go back to sleep.

"Would you two just shut up?" I asked as I slid open the door to my room. Naturally they were arguing right outside my door. My mom was already in her blue and white training gi and looked like she was ready to blow a fuse. Unluckily for me, she turned her attack on her son.

"Go back to sleep or help your father with breakfast," my mother hissed as her bright blue eyes glared me down with all the malice they possessed. She was very unhappy with something.

I slipped past her and went to go help my dad, since there was nothing in the world that would get me to stay in the line of fire. _Good luck, Yahiko_...

A few hours later, Mom and Yahiko were sparring, and they both looked angry, but of course my mom was beating Yahiko. When my mom put her mind to something, she got it done, regardless of what means were necessary. I was watching from the doorway with my dad when one of my least favorite family members snuck up behind me.

"What are you doing, nii-san?" an annoyingly high-pitched voice asked me. I turned around to see a girl of four in a pink yukata with big purple eyes and raven black hair, just like my mom's. _Kaori...._

"What do you want, kid?" I asked, a little testy. Little Miss Perfect, gatherer of all my parent's attention and bringer of the destruction of my life, was barely old enough to walk, yet I knew the devil incarnate when I saw it.

"Nii-san! Okaa-san said to tell her when nii-san looks shuspisous!" Kaori replied. I rolled my eyes. Darn that stupid little brat of a sister!

"Well, nii-san is telling you to go away, Kaori-chan," I replied annoyed.

"But Okaa-san said--!" Kaori began, but I cut her off again.

"I'm not doing anything wrong, Kaori-chan," I lied, "Besides... Otou-san looks bored. Maybe you should go and talk to him."

She seemed to process what I was saying at her usual slow pace. "Okay!" she announced suddenly as she started to walk towards my father. Good. Now that the stupid kid sister was out of the way, I could concentrate on how to get the sakabatou. Granted, Yahiko still had it on his waist, but that would change when he took a bath. I might not get away with this though... my mom had the intuition of Kami.....

* * *

_FINALLY! _I was running towards the shrine north of the dojo with the sakabatou in my hands. Yahiko was stupid enough to leave it out where I could get it. Serves you right, jerk!

I rounded the bend in the road and looked apon a small outcropping with a small shrine in the center that was bathed in orange and red from the setting sun. I had made it!

"Kenji-kun?" the boy named Juji asked me. He was looking a little more scared than he should have been if it was just him, so I was pretty sure those thugs had shown. "Kenji-kun, you should get out of here!"

Almost as if on cue, my challegers appeared out from behind the shrine. However, they were different than before. All of the men had swords or daggers and their numbers had doubled. So, they were going to play it like this, huh?

"Ah, so the brat shows," the leader from before commented with contempt dripping from every word.

"Well, now, why don't we teach this kid some manners?" one of the thugs added. Everyone laughed but the leader. Apparently, he was the only smart one in the group. Great.

"Spare me the jabs, would you?" I asked as I yawned. "If any one of you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you leave now."

"Oh, hurt? They ain't gonna be any injuries," one of the thugs commented.

"Yeah, just one dead kid!" another shouted as they all came at me at once. Great plan there, guys. I lifted my bokken (face it, it's easier to weild than that stupid, heavy sakabatou so I brought it with me too) and rightly slammed it into one of the assailants' nose. As the first one fell, I swung wide and hit one of the guys in the knee and another I hit in the gut. This was going better than I thought it would.

The next couple of guys now saw what I could do and were a little more prepared for it. It took some of the Kamiya-Kasshin's more complex moves in order to make them go down. The final four were much smarter. They came at me a little more reserved than the first six or seven. They decided to come at me as one, which was a lot more difficult to deflect than it should have been. I let one fall, and when I wasn't expecting it, I got a fist in the face.

I was tasting blood in my mouth, but I had to keep going. Who knew what was going to happen to Juji if I failed, and most importantly, my pride wouldn't allow it. When I fell to the ground from that punch, my bokken had flown out of my hand. I looked over to it and saw that it was completely snapped in half. Great, Mom was gonna kill me....

"What's wrong, kid? Can't stand?" the man who punched me taunted. I glared at him. I guess I would have to resort to the sakabatou. I quickly stood and wiped the trickle of blood from my chin with my thumb.

I heard the sound of a clicking tounge from behind me and turned around to see.... _damn it!_ "Picking on kids... jeez, what has the dreaded gangster come to?" Yahiko drawled. He cast a smug look in my direction that plainly told me that I was in big trouble. Great. That meant that my mom and dad were probably on the way. Gah, I'd never hear the end of it!

"Back off, Yahiko!" I snarled at him, "This is my fight!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Yahiko said. "I was just giving you a little rest time." Yahiko winked at me knowingly and the smug look that was usually in place on his face quickly changed to pride. "What, do you think I'd actually butt in? However, get your ass kicked, and I'm not taking you to Megumi's."

What? Yahiko was... helping me? I didn't quite understand, but I decided to go ahead anyway. I unsheathed the sakabatou and the strangest thing happened. The sword felt like it was tingling with electricity, almost as if it was its own power source. I felt it warm my hands. Yahiko had once told me that this sword had a pretty full history, now I could see why. In its sheath, the sword wasn't all that heavy, but now that I was holding it in my hands, I could feel its power weighing it down. It gave me energy that I didn't know I had.

I felt every muscle in my body tighten as I lunged. I took the first two down (including the guy who punched me) in a matter of minutes. The second two were actually easier, now that I could judge the weight of the sword. And then there was one...

The leader didn't look too happy, to be honest. Rather, he looked like he was ready to kill me. I'd defeated his men without a terrible ammount of difficulty, and if humanly possible, I think my head just got a hell of a lot bigger.

But that's when my head started to deflate. The leader dropped his sword and pulled out one of those European revolvers. Crap! I hadn't prepared for this! I don't know how, but I managed to keep my head on strait and charged at him. He was about to pull the trigger when I leaped into the air and came down hard on his right shoulder. I felt his collar bone break under the force. The gun thankfully flew out of his hand.

I heard Yahiko whistle from behind me and I looked to see him with a big grin slapped across his face. "That was pretty good, kid," he said as he approached me. I turned around and sheathed the sakabatou.

"It was no big deal," I replied, a little shaken up, since I probably could have been floating on a puffy white cloud to heaven if I hadn't reacted well. I think my head finally returned to its normal size.

Yahiko held out his hand and I reluctantly gave him the sakabatou. He gripped it and then hit the leader on the bum with it. I heard a muffled curse coming from the gangster.

"Hey, pal. The next time you wanna pick on the students of Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu, you better bring a whole army. And next time, I'll be the one to take you down, and I'm not nearly as forgiving as a kid," Yahiko hissed as he hit the leader on the back of the head. Then his attention turned to Juji, who was standing ramrod strait at the edge of the shrine with eyes the size of saucers.

"Hey, Juji," Yahiko yelled. Juji's eyes got even wider. "Now you know what life can throw at you, are you going to keep going in Kamiya-Kasshin?"

Juji's eyes got a little smaller and a smile returned to his face. "Yes, sir!" he called and ran off in the direction of the dojo. _You know what they say: all's well that ends well!_

"So, Kenji--" Yahiko began as a smug look returned to his features. _Or maybe nothing ends well for me... _"--you _do_ know that now I get to hold the judgement of whether or not to tell your parents about this, right?" Joy. I was going to have to endure hell from him for the rest of my life... unless...

"Hey, I'm sorry I stole the sakabatou, okay?" I said, trying to worm my way out of punishment.

"Don't tell that to me," Yahiko replied as he yawned lazily, "appologize to Kenshin. The sakabatou is his sword, not mine." Wait, what?!

"What do you mean 'his sword'?" I asked, a little taken aback, "My dad doesn't know how to use a sword... right?"

That's when Yahiko bust into a fit of laughter. He was almost crying by the time he regained the ability to speak. "Oh, kid! How little you know! Hahah! Your dad not a swordsman--! Gah, come on, kid, you're leaving me in stitches here!" And he continued to laugh.

Remember how I said that this story involed me making the second most important discovery of my life? Well, that right there was the third most important thing I ever learned in my life. My dad was a swordsman. Something that I never knew, nor ever dreamed of being true. See, I knew my dad had fought in the Bakumatsu a good twenty years ago, but that doesn't make someone a swordsman. Being a swordsman is a way of life, the way of the samurai. My father never once fit that persona, so you can see why I was a little disbelieving. But, nevertheless, I still had one more thing to learn that day...

"Wait a minute. You mean that my father actually was a swordsman, not just some stupid patriot in the Bakumatsu?" I asked. Yahiko nodded as he wiped tears of myrth from his eyes.

"Yep, kid! You should really ask your dad about it some time, its a pretty cool story, if you don't mind the fact that he's too humble for his own good!" Yahiko replied. "Aw, man kid! You just made my day! Come on, let's go see if you're still hot. I need to get some extra cash..."

"No way!" I repleid. "I'm not going to gamble for you! And I'm not gonna let you use my money this time either!"

"Aw, come on Kenji!" Yahiko complained.

Ah, the infamous lightbulb... you know, the one that goes off when you get an idea? Yeah, that totally just happened to me right then.

"Alright, but I'm gonna only do it once. If I win, you get to tell me about my dad being a swordsman," I replied. Yahiko scruitnized my face.

"Deal, but only on the condition that if I win, I get to tell your parents about this," Yahiko said.

"Deal," I agreed.

* * *

Turned out that we were going to be gambling with some of Yahiko's buddies. Yutarou and Outa were there, both of whom were bad infuences on the Kamiya-Kasshin students, and Katsu, who was another old friend. Naturally, they liked to pick on me (exept for Outa, who was a little more compasionate). Not only did they gamble, though, they also got drunk. Because that was what I really needed, to take an incapacitated Yahiko home to his already mad wife.

However, when it finally came to the gambling match, it was a different story.

"Okay, the dice are thrown, guys. What is it?" Katsu asked. Yahiko smirked.

"Chou" he replied

"Han," I wagered. "Five and six."

"Just remember, kid, that you can't blame me for the injuries Kaoru gives you," Yahiko taunted.

"Shut up, Yahiko," I hissed back. Oh man, I am sooo glad that I have very good predicting skills...

"Han, five and six," Katsu called out as he lifted the cup the dice were under and showed the offending cubes.

"Haha!" I taunted.

"What?! That's not fair!" Yahiko said in dismay.

"Looks like you lost, Yahiko," Yutarou commented.

"Shut up cat-eyes!"

"So," I replied, fanning the notes I had won from Yahiko, "you gonna spill?"

Yahiko looked daggers at me, but he reluctantly replied, "Kyoto."

"That's not an explination, Yahiko," I replied.

"That's all I'm allowed to say. You wanna find out about your dad, go to Kyoto. It won't be that hard, he's pretty famous down there," Yahiko replied. "But no matter what, that didn't come from me, got it?"

I nodded......

* * *

As I said, I learned a very important thing that night. Kyoto... how many times had my mother mentioned it in passing. Of course he'd have some ties there, almost everybody did! But, now was the question of how I was going to find out. From then on, I made it a habit to follow Yahiko when I knew he was going to be drinking with his friends, just so I might hear some more information about what my parents were trying very hard to keep quiet. I ended up reaching my teen years without another mention, but there was one name that kept reappearing in Yahiko's drunk subject matter... 'Battousai'... Little did I know that was the biggest problem of them all....

* * *

*A/N - I know, this is like the Author's Note from Hell here, but I gotta explain a couple of things.

1. Outa is actually Sanosuke's little brother, which appears in the manga. His little sister, Uki, will also appear later in this.

2. Watsuki is a genius, but I don't like what he had planned for Kenji's character if the series had gone on. He wanted to make Kenji twisted and egomanical, and I'm sorry but that really doesn't fit a kid of Kenshin's, ya know? The Kenji written here is the Kenji that I think would have been the son of Kenshin.

3. Yes, I know Kenji didn't have a little sister in the manga, but it really only showed, what, five years of Kenshin and Kaoru's marriage? I always imagined them having at least two kids, a boy and a girl, simply because if we all make Kenshin out to be a perv in parodies, why not make him actually have more kids? It makes more sense, I think.

4. I know this is a little confusing, but bear with me, I'm trying very hard to make Kenji as much like Yahiko as possible, while still keeping many of the qualities of Kenshin, which I'm sure Kenji has inherited. In the manga, it kind of makes it to where Kenji hates Kenshin, but he was just three then, so it doesn't really count in my mind. A lot of kids have a favorite parent when they're little, so given the fact that things like that happen, I won't admit to the fact the Kenji really does hate his father. The OVAs went toofar on that one. I wanted to make it where Kenji doesn't really get along with his father, but still loves him because he is his father, and let's face it, Kenshin is pretty cool...

5. Watsuki is a genius, as I've stated before, and I am going to use some of the traits that he imagined Kenji having. Like the fact that he is a child prodigy. Watsuki had imagined that Kenji would have been able to mimick Hiten Mitsurugi moves when he only heard about them, so that is going to stay. He also wanted Kenji to inherit the sakabatou, but I will not make him fight Shinya, Yahiko's son (who is about six in this), in order to win it. I think that bickering among themselves is a little OOC.

6. I want to make it clear that Kenji is trying to outbest his father, swords and otherwise, much like Yahiko was driven to become the best. Kenshin fully supports his efforts in this and didn't intend to keep Battousai a secret from his son, but because Kenji is so much like Kenshin, rebellious and all, Kenshin and Kaoru agreed that it would be best if they waited to tell him after he was old enough and mature enough to handle it (AKA genpuku).

I hope I didn't confuse anyone too badly. Again, more of this will be explained later, but since it may be a while before I can pick this up again, I thought I'd say this so that you guys weren't going WTF? at the end of this chapter. Again, sorries. ~Tardis*


	3. Fireflies

*A/N - Holy crap... I'm tired guys... I love writing this story, but I can't get my brain or fingers to work fast enough... I hope to have this out by the first, but I'm not sure if that's gonna happen yet or not. Either way, I hope you like this chapter because I am pouring my heart and soul out into this one. I really should get to work on Stolen Away, but I just got an idea and I want to get out of the exposition stage! Yarg! Alright, Tardis, get your big lazy bum in shape and lets go! **No, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I kind of want to, but we all know that's never gonna happen...** ~Tardis*

_Kyoto_... it had been four and a half years since I had heard Yahiko spill that certain well-kept secret. Only problem with Yahiko's theory... I would have to _go_ to Kyoto to get that kind of information... and when you have the most overly-protective parents on this side of the equator, it's a little bit hard to say, 'Hey, Okaa-san! Listen, I was just wondering if I could go on a pilgrimage to Kyoto _by myself _to learn about the secrets you guys have been hiding from me for fourteen and a half years! '.... let's just say I had about a snowball's chance in hell....

Frustration was about the most common emotion I was expressing now-adays. It didn't help that Mom wanted me to teach Kamiya-Kasshin, when I kept on insisting on getting stronger.

"You can learn more from teaching than from being taught sometimes, Kenji. Getting stronger is just a statement. When you decide to get stronger, that's when you actually start gettign there. That's the purpose of Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu!," My mother would always say after I began my arguement in a very high-pitched, punch a baby (or my younger sister), sing-song type way. I hated it.

My father backed my mother up, too. He would always insist that Kamiya-Kasshin would make me strong enough to protect the honor of the house and the people around me. Only Yahiko sort of knew what I felt, and he always insisted that this was just a phase of growing up. Bull shit. If that were the case, I would have grown out of it when I was ten. I wanted power, much more than a fledgling style like Kamiya-Kasshin could offer.

But, there was another way. If my parents would not let me seek out another teacher... I could teach myself, and none would be the wiser. You see, while Yahiko never once spilled another secret on my parents, but a great swordsman by the name of Battousai appeared numerous times in Yahiko's drunken banter. According to legend, Battousai was a fearsome hitokiri in the Bakumatsu whose sword was faster than the speed of gods, and that wasn't just a fairy tale. I didn't know how much to believe out of Yahiko's stories, but numerous times I listened in on his conversations about Battousai and his Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, the technique from the heavens.

I listened closely when Yahiko would describe his tecnique, and in my spare time I would try them out, with comendable results. By the time I was thirteen, I had mastered most of the techniques I learned, and more were still on the way. Too bad I didn't know the names of these techniques...

In the end, Kamiya-Kasshin kind of set the stage for my new techniques that were much more difficult to master and learn than the ones taught at my mother's dojo, and with them came a new-found power that could even kick Yahiko's ass! And, speaking of which, that's exactly what happened, and that happened to be the reason for why I left for Kyoto...

* * *

"HIT!"

I turned around and glared at my mother. She was sweaty and smiling as usual after training days. If it weren't for the sharp pain in my side, I would have gone for her throat, but the first of the two was more pressing.

I turned my glare onto Yahiko's sweaty, smirking face. I jumped back away from Yahiko holding my side.

"Aw, come on kid, don't take it personal!" Yahiko sneered as he prepared for another attack. We were having a match because Yahiko said a few too many things and I managed to back him into a corner. However, as it stood now, it was me that should have thought more seriously about this. Man, if I lost I was going to have to do Yahiko's chores for a week!

"Boys, behave," my mother warned. Yahiko gave her the finger. "YAHIKO!" And Yahiko's head collided with a bucket.

"Now, now," my father said as he restrained Mom from snapping Yahiko's neck. All the while, Yahiko was cursing my mother all the way down to the seventh circle of Hell... the normal comedy routine.

"Hey, Yahiko! I wanna finish this stupid match _before_ next spring," I complained. Yahiko snapped back to me.

"'Hope it's okay if I kill your stupid son, Kaoru," Yahiko retorted. My mother bit back her next comment and once again gave us the signal to begin. I didn't even let Yahiko react when my shinai hit him squre in the chest and sent him flying backwards.

"Haha!" Mom yelled at Yahiko's groaning figure. Father shook his head and once again went over to stand by my mother.

Yahiko stood up and walked over to me and wiped a small trickle of blood from his face with his thumb. "Kenshin, I hope you don't mind only having a daughter!"

"I can't say this one wouldn't _like _it, but I don't think Kaoru-dono would be all that pleased, that I do not," Father replied, biting back a laugh. He got a loving jab in the ribs for it.

"Come on, Yahiko, you couldn't be losing to a 'kid', could you?" I taunted. Yahiko once again got ready to face me. We glared at each other, both of us preparing to use everything we had... including my favorite secret technique...

Yahiko came at me fast, but I dodged. It was a wide sweep and it left his back wide open, but as my shinai came to connect, he swerved and kicked upwards to meet my face. I spun and he missed by a hair's breadth. Our feet connected with the ground again, but only temporarily as we both came at each other, both of us aiming for the chest. But, it was a miss for both of us.

_This is it!_ I thought as I finally jumped high in the air and came down hard on his shoulder. I pinned him to the ground with the force of my attack, and if he hadn't attempted to block it, he would have had a cracked collar bone by now. _Yes! He has to do my chores this week! _I thought cockily, but Yahiko managed to catch my arrogant mind's attention.

Yahiko was stunned. Not that I'd beaten him, that happened more and more often, but instead he was looking at me like I was some sort of ghost or something. He turned white as a sheet. When I looked over to my Mom, she was giving me the same look as Yahiko, but there was a subtle hint of anger behind the shock. But, those two were nothing compaired to the rest of what I saw...

My father's face was dark for the first time in my memory. His eyes narrowed and rest of his face a mask, I wasn't really sure if he was angry, shocked, or disappointed. But, most importantly, was the critical look which pinned me where I was, unable to move a muscle. I even thought I saw his eyes flash a golden color before returning to redish-purple.

After looking at me, or really _through_ me, for several minutes, my father's gaze relaxed only slightly, but it was enough for me to get a hold of myself and move in a simi-normal fashion, though I was still a little bit..._scared_...? That wasn't right... my father wasn't..._couldn't_ be... scary....could he?

"You stupid brat..." Yahiko said in a weak voice that was supposed to sound tough. "I can't believe you pulled that one! Where did you learn that move, Kenji?" His voice got stronger with each passing word, and both Yahiko's and my mother's faces returned to their normal complexion.

"Yahiko's right, Kenji. Where did you learn that? I'm pretty sure I've never seen you use that one before..." Mother started in on me, but I wasn't about to deal with the Spanish Inquisition right now.

"Why so shocked?" I asked as I threw my shinai to Yahiko. "A little more faith, please." I walked out of the dojo quite quickly, hoping to get as far away from them as possible.

_What the hell was that?_ I asked myself. _It's not like they've never seen a move like that before! It's exactly the same as any other move aimed at the shoulder, only the attack is airborne! This isn't fair! And why did Otou-san get so mad....?_ I pondered this until I found my feet taking me to the riverbank where we used to spend our summer evenings watching fireflies before Kaori was born. It was getting dark now, and the fireflies were starting to come out of hiding.

I hoped to find some answers to my questions in the swiftly-moving water below me. I walked up close to the bank and sat down at the steepest part, hoping that if they came looking for me, they wouldn't see me. Right now I just wanted to be alone.

I sat there staring at the swirling dark water a foot from my sandals and watching the sun slowly sink from behind me. There was a deep orange glow to the world and I must admit it was quite nice out here, but my thoughts were distracting me. I didn't really know what was going on, but my mind started into overtime. Why was my father, whose past was a little bit dodgy as far as I knew, connected to Kyoto and why was he keeping that from me? How much were they keeping from me, exactly? And, most importantly, how big of a side of my father was still unknown to me? As far as I knew, my father was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back and never ask for a thing in return, a guy who couldn't scold his own kids, no matter how hard he tried, and a man who never got angry and never lifted a finger against anyone or anything (except the rare stubborn log or vegetable). Now, factor that in to the equasion that he looked _scary_ to me because I used a sword move that wasn't Kamiya-Kasshin, and you'll see that five does not equal six, no matter how you'd want it to. And right now, I really wished that five equalled six, and that my father made some sort of sense to me. In fact, I was so deep in my questions and revelations that I didn't notice someone sneaking up behind me.

"Kenji?" a voice asked me from behind. I spun around as fast as my neck would let me, hoping against hope it wasn't mom or Yahiko. But, as it turned out, what I saw was much, much worse....

My father stood at the top of the bank, his figure blotting out the setting sun. I couldn't see his face, or really anything other than his outline and his shaggy red hair which was one out of two things that proved that I actually was related to him at all. He took a few steps towards me, but I stood up and got on the defensive. He noticed.

"Kenji, I just want to talk to you, that I do," he said in a strange voice I'd never heard before. It was low, much lower than I'd ever heard him use, and, to be quite honest, that scared me. What was going on?

I kept quiet. I didn't really want to reply to my father, nor did the planned nasty retort that was on the tip of my tongue ever leave my lips.

My father continued to approach me, but I still could not see his face. He came up and sat down on the bank, which was a far cry of what I had expected him to do, that was even out of character. However, I did notice that I couldn't see his face past his long strands of red hair still.

"So..." my father began in that same strange tone, "Where did you learn that, Kenji? I'm pretty sure this one's never seen it in the Kamiya dojo before, that I am. Did you find another teacher?"

I didn't know how to respond. I knew he wanted me to answer that question, or at least he was going to give me the chance to answer. "Um..." I began, reallizing I was treading on really thin ice. "Uh... I...." _Okay, might as well tell the truth. _"... I heard about it from Yahiko. It's some really powerful super-technique or something. I just wanted to... I dunno... try it out?"

My father looked at me. And when I say 'looked at me', I really mean stare right through my soul. "You heard about it? That's all?"

_Crap! _He knew! I didn't know how, but he knew what that move was and probably where it was from. And how?! He was some weakling! How did he know?!

"Yeah," I lied, trying really hard to sound convincing and failing miserably.

"Is there something on your mind, Kenji?" my father asked. Well, it wasn't so much of a question, more like a statement, but he wanted me to answer. And there wasn't anything I would do to refuse those peircing purple eyes that scared the crap outta me.

"...Yeah... Uh, I--" _TIme to suck it up. You knew this was coming._ "--I want to go to Kyoto," I said slowly, trying to read my father's face, which normally always betrayed his emotions, but now I couldn't tell a thing about him.

"Kyoto? May I ask why, Kenji? This one doesn't recall anyting you would need in Kyoto, that I do not," he said. It wasn't the same as before as far as that strange tone went, but instead it took on a stronger, more forceful edge. Something I'd never experienced from this parent.

"Because," I said as I switched to the defensive, "I want to look up some things. It's really none of your business anyway, Otou-san. I don't see why you care!" I started to get hotheaded and stood up suddenly. Some of the previous girlishness returned to my father's eyes.

"Kenji?" my father asked in a tone I somewhat remember, though it was still carrying that unfamiliar harshness as before.

"No, Otou-san! I can do what I want! I'm going to go to Kyoto and I'm going to get stronger than stupid Kamiya-Kasshin!"

"Kenji--"

"I'm going to, Otou-san, and there's no way a weakling like you can stop me!" I was still heaving and angry as a hornet, but somehow I felt relieved that I got all of that off my chest. I was sooo ready to throw caution and Kamiya-Kasshin to the winds for good and ever. This was my time to shine, and I wasn't going to let _anyone_ slow me down!

"Kenji," My father said slowly, still with the unfamiliar edge to his voice and eyes, "I'm not trying to stop you. But would you at least wait a little while? Kyoto is still a very dangerous place, Kenji, and you could get hurt, that you could. Your mother nor I want you to go by yourself. We plan on going down next spring anyway, " he bartered. I didn't even hear what he said, I just registered it as an attempt to keep me in the nest with my weakling parents longer than necessary.

"Shut up!" I hissed. "You don't know anything about me, Otou-san. Hell, you don't know anything period. Just leave me alone!" And with those cutting words, I spun around and ran to the dojo as fast as I could, leaving my awestruck father in the dust...

* * *

I was very lucky that night as I snuck into the dojo. No one was there, not even Kaori the demon. It was really strange seeing the dojo empty. I wondered about the absense of people in the back of my mind, but the rest of me was in a mad dash to get everything I needed and run away in the dead of night for Kyoto. I stole one of the large traveling sacks from my mother's chest and filled it with an extra hakama and gi and food for the trip. The last thing I got was money out of my parent's wallets. Knowing them, they were so thick-headed they wouldn't even notice the money was missing. Hopefully, this would be enought to get me to Kyoto.

I planned out an escape route on the way to the dojo, but it turned out it wasn't necessary. No one was after me, not even Father, but that was probably because he was running to my mom for support. I didn't care. I slipped out of the dojo with my pack and shinai like a cat and walked towards Kyoto.

By now, the fireflies had all come out and so knowing that no one would care to look there, I took a round-about way to the edge of town and went past the river. There were fireflies everywhere, and now that the sun was gone, it was almost like there was a faint green glow to everything. It was absolutely beautiful, but no matter what, I wasn't going to miss it. I kept walking at a slow pace, taking in my surroundings while being pensive the whole time, which was why I almost completely didn't notice the sound of footsteps behind me. I didn't even need to turn around and break my neck again to know who it was this time.

"Hello, Otou-san," I hissed in the darkness as I turned around to face my father. He didn't look like he was in a rush to find me, more like he knew where I'd be. That made me mad. I was _sure_ that no one would even think about me going here!

"Kenji, come home," my father said in a suprisingly strong tone for a man that just got told off by his son.

"Why should I?" I taunted. I really, really wanted to bash his face in. Apparently I had forgotten how scary my father could be and hadn't learned from today's earlier experience. I got the full force of his will power in the next exchange.

"Kenji, come home _now_," he repleated with even more force and with a deadly edge that made me shiver in the eighty-degree weather.

"...I'm going whether you like it or not!" I warned, but even I noticed my voice quivering. My father was scaring me, and for the first time in my life, I thought he might actually hit me.

"No, Kenji," my father said. _Wait, what?! 'No'?! _My father never said 'no'. I didn't think he was capable of saying that two letter word.

"What do you mean 'no'? Y-you're not the boss of me," I retorted in a much weaker voice than I had anticipated.

"Kenji, if you go you will regret it. You will find when you finally come home that you aren't the same person you used to be and you will be hurt and angry. You won't get any stronger from learning about a dead man," my father said slowly and evenly.

"H-how did you--?"

"-know about Battousai? This one has seen quite a lot of this world, Kenji. I'm telling you to go home, for your own good. It would be counter-productive to go out of spite," my father replied in the same tone, but I detected a hint of an eternal sadness that I had seen before, but never once had I payed any attention to.

"What do you know about him, Otou-san?" I whispered. I was now looking down at my feet, hoping he would buy that the loose strings on my sandals were more interesting than his piercing eyes.

"I will tell you when you are ready," Father answered, "but not before."

Anger flared up again. "When will that be? Who are you to decide when I'm ready to be better than you?!"

My father didn't say a word, but instead just looked at me. We were in a lock, neither one able nor willing to look away. It must have lasted for a few agonizingly long minutes before my father's gaze relaxed. Mine, however, did not.

"Kenji... please come home," my father said at length. I could tell that he really wanted me to stay and that this entire macho act was just to cover up his weakness, and that fueled the adolescent fire.

"No! I don't need you anymore, Otou-san!" I said as I threw my bag back over my shoulder and made a run for it.

"Kenji!" I heard my father call out behind me, but I didn't hear him running after me so I kept on going towards Kyoto and not even the fireflies could stop me...

*A/N - Okay, so there's chapter three! I know it seems like Kenji's a little whiney, and Kenshin's a little weak... but there is a reason to their madness... I think.... I hope.... XD Anyway, I just really want to thank my reviewers, because without you guys I wouldn't have finished this chapter! So, keep reviewing! I'll even accept borderline flames, but no full-blown flames, because they all get sent to the weather god so that maybe Oklahoma will get up above 40 degrees farenhieght! ^.^ I actually had to cut this chapter in half, so I'm kind of sorry that it's weird, but if I kept it its original length, most of you would have gone O.O and maybe wouldn't have read it, so again sorries! ~Tardis*


	4. Kyoto

*A/N - So I hope everybody enjoyed the last chapter and the Super Bowl! I know I did! Go Saints!! XD So, this is going to be another long-ish chapter (for me, at least) and I hope you guys like it! This one will include some interesting appearences, including some of our favorite cannon characters! **I don't own Kenshin or Kenji, but I do admit that I changed them a bunch in this and I'm sorry if that upsets anyone! ** ~Tardis*

I finally was in the bustling city of Kyoto. I thought that stupid journey would never end! It had taken me five days to get here and my money that I took from my parents was almost spent!

It was midday when I entered the very large commercial district of eastern Kyoto, not far from Gion. The sun was high on my back and if it weren't for my hat I probably would've had a face as red as my hair. Thankfully, though, walking closer to the shops prevented me from getting overheated in my dark blue gi that soaked the sun's heat up like a sponge.

It took me an hour to find anything. And then there was the fact that I didn't really know where to start. Finding a really good swordman was tough, and if I really wanted to be the best, as Yahiko had stated, then Battousai would be ideal... but he was a hitokiri. I didn't believe that any cause justified killing people, so that was going to be a problem. And then there was the fact that he was probably dead now... Yeah, my search wasn't going so well.

And then there was looking up my dad. Now with that confrontation we had a few days ago, I was even more determined to dig up as much dirt as possible on my lying parents. The best place to do that would go to Misao and Aoshi, but niether one of them would say anything even if I tortured them... hell, they would probably laugh at my pitiful excuse at coming up with torture devices. But, the most pressing matter at hand was that I had no money. I needed to find the cheapest hotel out there and find me a small job or something to get more funds. Otherwise, I was going to be sleeping in the street tonight..

I wandered around, marveling at the sheer size of the thousand-year-city, for at least two hours before I found myself in a very odd place. It was a lot like the dodgy areas of Tokyo, only this one was organized better. It was a shady place, but right now with sun on my back, shady was a perfect term to get my feet into motion towards the little slice of Kyoto. And, while I was here, I may find something of value.

The second I walked in, though, I realized this wasn't so shady. This was technically a place for vagabonds and scoundrels, but there were nice old ladies and kids running around too. It wasn't half bad. I meandered through the streets for a while, dipping my hat to the inhabitants as I passed. However, soon a rather bothersome human instinct made me pause.

_Crap... I'm hungry._ I looked around a little furtively until I found a soba stand. Good! Cheap, fast food that would at least hold me over for a while. I bought some plain (I didn't have any money, remember?) and sat down in the tent.

I looked around as I was eating and spotted a couple at the corner. The woman was definately _not_ Japanese, and in fact, she was very European-looking with curly blond hair in some upswept mess that was supposed to look pretty, but I dunno... She wasn't in a kimono, but some wierd, form-fitting gown-like-thing that was pink and white with a shawl of some sort wrapped around her shoulders, which completely defeated the purpose. Wasn't it late spring? She didn't look all that hot though... The man next to her was Japanese this time. He was wearing some western pants and wore only a white jacket on his shoulders. He had spikey brown hair that reminded me strongly of a rooster, which was tied back with a red headband... Either way, he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to me, so I continued eating my soba and thinking.

"Hey, kid!" I heard only a spit second before a bowl came flying at my head. I looked up and barely caught it in time. However, the force of the throw did nock my hat off my head. I looked for the source of the now-identified flying object, and spotted the man in the corner smiling at me in a way that just made me mad.

"What the hell was that for?!" I asked as I stood up and narrowed my eyes. The man was taken aback at first, but then narrowed his eyes.

"Nothin' much, just wanted to see what you looked like without your hat off, punk," he drawled and turned back to his date, who had a very obvious look of distain plastered across her face.

I threw the bowl back and it connected with the annoying man's head and it shattered in a very satisfying way. Meanwhile, the woman was laughing quite hard at the pained expression of the man. He turned back around to glare at me.

"What was that for?!" he growled.

"Nothin' much, just wanted to return the favor, jackass," I drawled lazily as I returned to my soba.

"Punk, did your mother not ever teach you manners?" the man asked as he stood up and walked over to me with fists clenched.

"Oh, sorry. How about 'Just wanted to return the favor, jackass-_sama_'," I replied cockily.

The man took the insult, and actually cracked a wry smile at it, but then tilted his head to the side and pointed at my head. "Hey kid, you look a lot like someone I used to know. Does the name 'Himura' ring any bells?"

'Himura'!? He knew who I was?! Did that mean he knew my dad? I didn't really know how to respond to that one.

"No," I decided firmly and quickly finished my soba. After that was done, I put on my hat again and ran out of the stand, leaving the man and his date a little awestruck.

I ran pell-mell through the streets and alleys until I was quite far away from that particular soba stand. The sun was beating down on my back again, so I knew it was time to try to find some shelter. I turned around to make sure that strange man didn't follow me. But, when I turned back around...

WHAM! I was pushed roughly to the ground by someone, and that very someone landed on top of me. My hat somehow managed to stay in place, but the tie at my throat was a little bit painful right now. I was about to glare and cuss out the person who was pinning me to the ground, but when I looked into the criminal's face I noticed deep, chocolate-colored eyes attached to the face of a girl about my age with long dark brown hair that fell to her waist. She was just as mortified as I was, but it was her that stammered the first apology.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said as she stood up and grabbed my hand to help me to my feet. I dusted off my gi and looked at her a little sheepishly.

"It's okay--" I said, but I was cut off when the sound of a whistle alerted me to the presence of police officers. Now, under normal circumstances, I had absolutely nothing to fear from the police. I hadn't done anything wrong. But, when I noticed how the girl next to me stiffened, I decided against ignoring the problem. Like with my story of Juji, I couldn't leave people in need alone. Call it what ever you want, but it was definately going to be the death of me.

"Come on!" she yelled at me as she grabbed my wrist without a second thought and I followed in a similar fashion, though she didn't have to hold on to my wrist for very long. We ran through the dusty, dingy alleyways as fast as we could, but our pursuers weren't half bad themselves.

Finally, we ran into a dead end... or what looked like a dead end. We were facing the surrounding wall to a rather old-looking property. The wall must have been at least ten feet tall, and the clay tiles would totally give our position away if we tried to climb. But, the girl jumped none-the-less and landed pretty as you please on the roof of the wall without a single tile shifting under her small weight.

"Hurry! We don't have time!" she hissed and I (a little awestruck) followed suit to the same effect. We both then hurredly jumped down on the other side. Only a very old wall stood between us and them as the police officers made it to the dead end.

The girl and I crouched down and listened close to what they were saying in bated breath. In this time, I observed the girl a little more closely. She was in a gi and hakama and she looked like she was hiding a wakizashi in the folds of her gi. Not only that, but even I had to admit she was quite pretty. However, the most confuzing thing about her was that she, like my mother, were very much contradictive from a glance.

"You think that they jumped that?" one of the officers asked his superiors.

"No," a chilling voice answered, "that would be impossible for them to do. They must have taken a turn somewhere."

"Are you sure, Fujita?" the first one asked.

There was a very cold pause. The girl next to me lifted her head skyward and held something in her hand. It wasn't that hard to know that she was praying, but Buddhists always bowed their heads when praying. One more mystery to this girl. She began to mumble something, but I couldn't understand what she was saying.

"... yes, I am," the cold voice replied and they retreated. The girl next to me let out a sigh. She stood to her full height which was (sadly) only about an inch shorter than me. She started to walk towards the exit of this very old and abandoned yard, which involved another miraculous jump. She beconed me to follow, and I did.

When we reached the dead end of that alley, we walked in through a fabric door and into a hotel. It was small with very few furnishings, but it was well lit and clean. It was very obvious that this girl knew this place well. She quickly stepped out of her geta and quickly walked towards another fabric door. She stopped right before she went through it, however, and turned to look at me.

"Well, are you coming, swordsman-san?" she asked and I, almost involuntarily, followed her. We went through the fabric door, up a flight of stairs, and she opened a door to a very open room with only tatami mats inside. The entire far wall's screens were slid back to let in the sunlight. It was there that she turned around once again.

"Well, I should probably thank you, swordsman-san," she said, "since you did help me out. I'm sorry I ran into you," she admitted with a light pink dusting her cheeks, "that was kind of crass of me."

"It's okay," I said as I took a sweeping glance at the room, "where am I?"

"The Seikoro," she replied, "finest inn in Kyoto! I work and live here," she said, "but if you tell the police that, I'll have to kill you." That last statement was finished with a winning smile... was she serious?

"I'm kidding," she admitted, "geez, swordsman-san! You look so serious! It's an inside joke here, and besides, you don't know my name yet so it's not much of a problem."

I was taken aback. I never thought I looked all that serious, but apparently I did. Maybe it was just that everyone back home was used to it. Of course, compare my appearence with my father's and only our eyes and our expressions were different. Well, that and a very light cross-shaped scar etched across my father's face that I just now realized I had never once asked about. Man, that could have been useful! I cursed myself internally and promised to punish myself later, if fate didn't do it for me...

"So, what's your name, swordsman-san?" the girl asked me.

"You first," I insisted.

"What?! Why?" she asked in a very kiddish tone. _Okay, maybe she's a little bit younger than me... _

"Because you're the one that ran into me," I pointed out. She flushed again.

"So, you were the one daydreaming in the middle of the street! I thought you were going to move and--you know your hat is still on, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but if you're able to clear a ten-foot wall without difficulty, you must be aquaintences with the people I'm trying to avoid," I explained, trying very hard to word it as politely as possible. "Were I to give you my name or let you see my full appearence, I may end up getting into some major trouble."

"Oh, well in that case, I'm in a similar situation, as are all of the occupants of the Seikoro. If I went to the police about you, I'd be in a cell just the same. And as for the people you're trying to avoid, though I don't know how you could possibly be connected, all the onmitsu in the area are not friends with us," she said. "See, I'll show you! My name's Chizuru."

I weakened my defences. "Kenji," I replied. Obviously, family names were not needed here.

"Good, Kenji-san! Now, take off that stupid hat," she ordered in a very similar tone as my mom would use in this situation.

"Wha--why do I have to?" I asked, back on the defensive.

"Because... it's rude to leave your hat on in a building," she said simply.

"Fine," I replied testily. I removed my hat and Chizuru started laughing.

"What?!" I asked, knowing full well my blood vessels were betraying my wish to stay cool.

"Your hair... I thought it was auburn at most but _ blood red_?! Hahah!" Chizuru laughed. Aw, great. No matter where I go, it seems I never get a break!

"Chizuru-san!" a voice came from behind me. I turned around slowly, getting quite tired of practically breaking my neck every time now, and faced the newcomer. He was a man in his mid-twenties with well-trimmed brown hair and western clothing. He wasn't all that tall and had no particular aura around him at all, which was very unusual. Usually, I could sense the ki of everyone, but this man's was unusual. Almost as unusual as the smile he had plastered on his face. He even had perminant dimples from smiling.

"Oh, hey Sou-san!" she chirped. The man aknowlaged her.

"So, who is this?" the man asked.

"Oh, Sou-san, this is Kenji-san! Kenji-san, this is Soujiro-san, our leader," Chizuru said pleasantly.

"I see. Nice to meet you... _Himura_-san."

* * *

*A/N - Yes! I brought back Soujiro! I just loved him from day one and I always wanted to bring him back, I just didn't know how and now look! Before any of you ask, I'm not telling you exactly what Soujiro's role is going to be yet, but I will tell you that he has a big one. Mwahaha! ~Tardis*


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